NanoRacks’ Hardware Successfully Deploys Historic Set of Satellites from the International Space Station

NanoRacks LLC announces the successful completion of an ambitious launch program for small satellites and in so doing has broken the record of the most CubeSats deployed in a single mission to the International Space Station.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) March 03, 2014

NanoRacks LLC announces the successful completion of an ambitious launch program for small satellites and in so doing has broken the record of the most CubeSats deployed in a single mission to the International Space Station.

NanoRacks, working with NASA, the Japanese space agency JAXA and their astronauts, has successfully deployed from the KIBO module on space station the constellation of the California-based Planet Labs, whose 28 satellites are the largest ever CubeSat constellation. Also deployed were CubeSats for new space-faring nations, the UAPSat-1 from Peru, LitSat-1, and LituanicaSat-1 from Lithuania, along with commercial ventures, the ArduSat-2 from NanoSatisfi and SkyCube from Southern Stars.

The ground-breaking deployment for NanoRacks CubeSat Mission 3 (NR M3) of a total of 33 satellites has opened a new chapter in the utilization of the International Space Station and demonstrates the station as key to the new revolution in small satellites. NR-M3 was transported on Orbital Sciences Mission 1 to the US National Lab segment of the ISS and staged from the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM).

The NanoRacks CubeSat Deployment System was commercially developed from concept to launch in under ten months. NanoRacks rapid space-access service will again deliver CubeSats to the ISS scheduled on Orbital Sciences Mission 2 in May 2014.

“We could not be more excited ” comments NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber.. “The taxpayer did not foot the bill for our hardware, nor for our services, nor for the small satellites. This is true commercial/government partnership in action.”

Chief Technology Officer Mike Johnson expressed thanks to JAXA Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who worked, even on his time off, to finish the mission. And so too the ground support from JAXA and NASA, as well as Spaceflight Services, our marketing partner. “The space station is an ideal launch pad for a new era of low-cost research and utilization missions. This is good for everyone.”

ABOUT NANORACKS:
NanoRacks LLC was formed in 2009 to provide commercial hardware and services for the U.S. National Laboratory onboard the International Space Station. The Company is unique in owning and marketing its own family of hardware, both inside and external to the space station and operates via a Space Act Agreement with NASA’s U.S. National Lab. To date over 150 payloads have been deployed on space station and the current signed customer pipeline of over 50 payloads including domestic and international educational institutions, research organizations and government organizations, has propelled NanoRacks into a leadership position in servicing the emerging commercial market for low-earth orbit utilization and beyond.